'High' Stakes Poker

As I prepared to return home from Monte Carlo, I decided to give up my airline ticket and pay for a one-way seat on Larry Flynt's private jet. With one quick stop scheduled in Bangor, Maine, for fuel and pizza (they deliver it right to the plane), it was to be pretty much a 12-hour straight shot to Vegas. More importantly, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and I were scheduled to play $400-$800 limit poker all the way home! So, what was there not to like? We were flying high in Larry's Gulfstream IV and playing high-stakes poker (so that the time would pass more quickly), and perhaps I could win 50 thousand by the time we got home.



We hired a dealer to deal to us all the way home, and even before we were off the ground, the cards were in the air. Because Ivey had won both tournaments in Monte Carlo the previous two nights (for $1.6 million), and because he wasn't used to playing poker for such modest stakes (he's used to limits of at least $2,000-$4,000), I thought he might be off his game a bit. He wasn't. Gus wasn't used to playing this limit, either, so he figured to be playing way too loose, which he did, but he barbecued Matusow and me anyway.



In fact, Gus made the game much bigger than $400-$800 with his superloose and superaggressive style, and after seven hours, Mike and I had lost more than $75,000 each. Having two players lose more than $75,000 apiece at any point during a $400-$800 game normally would be unthinkable. But then you have to factor in the "Gus effect." When I became roughly an $80,000 loser, my original first-class ticket home was looking pretty attractive.



By the way, Matusow was playing tough poker almost the entire way home; he had only a couple of five-minute lapses. I felt I was playing well, also, but you'll have to ask Ivey and Hansen. Matusow would tell you I played badly (he always says people played poorly in retrospect). Nonetheless, Mike wound up losing $96,000, and I was lucky enough to cut my own loss to $18,000 or so.



We were playing a mixed-game rotation, including Omaha eight-or-better, hold'em, deuce-to-seven triple draw, and Chinese poker. During the course of play, Ivey played one hold'em hand particularly well. He raised with A-10, and I called from the big blind with K-10. The flop was 10-6-5, and I bet out $400. Ivey raised to $800, I reraised to $1,200, and Ivey called. I then bet $800 "in the dark" (before seeing what the next card was). When a 7 hit on fourth street, Ivey called me. Then, I waited to see the last card; I didn't want to bet in the dark into a potential four-card straight board like 10-6-5-7-8. But, it was a jack. I bet $800, and Ivey raised to $1,600. I called, and Ivey took down a nice pot.



The hand was played about the way it should have been. I was unlucky to have the K-10 side of the hand, of course, but Ivey's raise on the end was a superstar play, especially if he was willing to fold his hand for a reraise from me. In fact, the jack on the end would have prevented me from reraising if I had happened to have a different two pair than J-10, since it would have been easy for me to put him on J-10. So, he couldn't get reraised unless I was extremely powerful, in which case he presumably would have folded his hand. And he would get called by me if I had a 10 with any kicker, which was likely in a fourhanded game, especially with me being in the big blind.

Congrats to Phil Ivey for winning two out of two tournaments in Monte Carlo; I'm impressed. Next time I will ride in the jet the entire trip, but I won't underestimate Mr. Ivey! Have I ever?